Hawkeye’s second Epic Collection hits the mark with what is ostensively a complete Solo Avengers series compendium.
The Hawkeye: The Way of the Arrow Epic Collection includes all of the opinionated Avenger’s “solo” adventures from 1987 to 1989’s Solo Avengers #1-20 and the first issue of the retitled (but not renumbered) Avengers Spotlight #21.
Solo Avengers was a split hero book, similar to the early Marvel era Tales of Suspense or Tales to Astonish series, featuring episodic stories starring Hawkeye and stand-alone one shots featuring other Avengers.
Unlike some recent Epic Collections featuring individual heroes, all of the non-Hawkeye stories are included in The Way of the Arrow Collection with stories featuring Moon Knight, the Scarlet Witch, She-Hulk, the Black Panther, Doctor Druid, Hercules, Yellow Jacket, Captain Marvel, the Falcon, Hellcat, Hercules, the Wasp, Moondragon, and Namor on display.
Numerous writers and artists contributed to Solo Avengers due to the anthology nature of the series, and the collection includes work by Tom DeFalco, Roger Stern, Howard Mackie, Peter B. Gillis, Dennis Mallonee, Dan Mishkin, Bob Layton, Jackson Butch Guice, Mike W. Barr, J.M. DeMatteis, D.G. Chichester, Margaret Clark, Ralph Macchio, Gregory Wright, Dwayne McDuffie, Chris Claremont, Fabian Nicieza, Danny Fingeroth, and Sandy Plunkett, Mark Bright, Ron Lim, Jackson Butch Guice, Al Milgrom, Ron Wilson, James Brock, Jim Lee, Kieron Dwyer, Bob Hall, Paul Ryan, John Ridgway, Tom Grindberg, Larry Alexander, June Brigman, Lee Weeks, Bob Layton, Amanda Connor, Alan Davis, Tom Morgan, Don Perlin, Dave Cockrum, Sandy Plunkett, Tom Artis, Joe Rubinstein, Stan Drake, Jose Marzan, Jr., Don Heck, Roy Richardson, Al Williamson, Bob McLeod, John Ridgway, Dick Hodgins III, Mark McKenna, Jack Abel, Kim DeMulder, Scott Hampton, and Tom Morgan.
Since Hawkeye is the star of the show, the set of stories here reveal his origins and his complicated relationship with the Swordsman, introduce fellow arrow master Trick Shot, and set Hawkeye up for some rather formidable opponents such as the Red Skull, Doctor Octopus, the Abomination, and the Orb. A Clint Barton collection also wouldn’t be complete without glimpses of his messy love life with Mockingbird and Black Widow.
The Hawkeye: The Way of the Arrow Epic Collection consists of 496 pages for a suggested retail price of $44.99.
Check out the cover by Guice and Layton below and stay tuned to Conskipper for all of your vintage comic news.
